The Spring Rush

So, last week a small bulldozer came and scraped half of the empty field across from us.

A couple days later some strange fencing went up. Actually, it was less like fencing and more like random fence gates separated by invisible fencing. I think it marks off the area in which the builders will be working but does not inhibit access in any way.

Yesterday, a cement mixer drove by and several construction guys showed up. At first I thought they were going to lay down the foundation slab even though the ground, despite being scraped, had not been leveled. When I came home, however, I discovered they had put in a short (one foot or so) retaining wall outlining the intended floor plan. Presumably, a slab will come later.

Today there's a crew out there with cinder blocks.

Our county assesses impact fees to cover the cost of new infrastructure caused by increased development. When the recession hit, they slashed the impact fees down to near-nothing to try easing the burden on a crashing building industry. Last month, now the economy's back on track, the county commissioners voted to restore about half the fees. There are fewer than 60 days left before the new fees go into effect so there is a scramble to get permits issued before then.

It would seem our builder across the way got his approvals.

One of the Inmates May Be Making A Break For It

Neighbor Mike may be serious about moving.

First he had someone come in and officially delineate the property line between him and us. Shortly after that a family with a young daughter was wandering through his back yard. Last week a fat old beagle, answering to the name "Jersey," came snuffling around our lanai and two gentlemen I have never seen before came from behind Mike's house, apologized, and guided him back to their side. I suspect the parties in both instances may have been potential marks casing the joint.

This weekend there were a number of vehicles parked in Mike's driveway and along the side of the road in front of his place. Either they were friends/relatives there for an impromptu (and very quiet) daytime party, or he was holding some sort of garage sale to unload stuff he has no intention of packing when he goes.

He's being very discreet. There is no Sale sign in front of his place. So, no gawkers. Interested parties only, and through an agent.

I have noticed a number of new For Sale signs popping up around town in front of houses that are obviously occupied and well-tended so, apparently, the market is finally coming back up pretty near the lip of the crater that was the aftermath of the 2008 crash.

Who wants to be our neighbor? Can we get you to mow our side of the line, like Mike did? (Bonus: He tended to use our mower which he often borrowed without asking. We took his ladders. We're all kind of a commune that way.)

The Recession Must Be Over

I found a notice from the city hung on our front door knob this morning. They're planning on installing sidewalks on both sides of the main road past our house.

The road, when originally built, was two lanes in each direction with a large median separating oncoming traffic. The lane widths, however and in keeping with the typical cheap design of the entire town by the original developers*, were too narrow, although technically legal (the best kind of legal) which meant cars traveling in the same direction, if one tried to overtake the other, would literally come within inches of each other in the process. And this was before SUVs. Forget about trucks.

In the case of our road, a decision was made** to make the next-over parallel through road into the major thoroughfare and to remove a lane in each direction from our now-secondary street. The remaining lane was widened and the leftover paved right-of-way was turned into bike lanes.

Now they're going to put in sidewalks, although the few people I see out walking around use the bike lanes without any conflict from the (just as few) bicyclists. Still, considering the amount of rain we've had recently and the soggy condition of the ground, a hard surface to walk on further removed from traffic might be a good idea.

In fact, the major problem I see is the continuing rain. We had a couple of glorious sunny, low humidity days right at the equinox. Since then it has been continuous overcast and downpour without sight of the sun. The ground is mush and our swale is a fully qualified moat. Any digging the road crew does is going to have to be between the swale and the road and is still going to be all mud. I can't imagine any concrete they pour is ever going to set properly before mid-winter.

In any event, it will keep the city workers busy and our driveway doesn't open on to that street. Also, I think the palm on the corner is far enough back (our side of the swale/moat) to not be affected by the construction. So have at it!

*Many of the major roads have since been widened but the bridges over the canals, being much more expensive to upgrade, are still the original width and can cause quite the adrenaline rush when multiple vehicles attempt to use them at the same time.

**This happened when the powers finally admitted the entire city's transportation infrastructure was completely inadequate for the population and bulldozed a limited access crosstown boulevard clear through the city about a 1/4 mile south of us. The next street over got the full intersection and traffic signal, we got a westbound only entrance/exit and no light.

Random Acts of Realty

My brother received a letter the other day. It was hand written--hand-printed, actually--block letters in red ink on a lined yellow notebook page. It read:

MY NAME IS (redacted to protect the identity of the idiot who sent it).

I WOULD LIKE TO

$ BUY $

YOUR HOUSE. PLEASE CALL ME

AT (###) ###-####.

                                                            SINCERELY,

                                                                                                    (redacted again for the same reason)

The house is not on the market. Nor is there any intention of putting the house on the market. The mortgage is not excessive and there is no danger of late payment or other default. We do not know the above redacted person.

It would seem the housing market in our area is once again on the upswing. How else to explain a random solicitation from someone who apparently has more cash on hand than professional skills.

The dollar signs were a nice touch, though.

Sign of the Times

Pulled up at a stoplight behind a contractor's truck covered in advertising signage describing all the services offered, one of which is "Chinese Remediation." Anyone not familiar with this area might be forgiven for assuming the contractor was offering a sideline in either language classes or a service to deport illegal immigrants.

Anyone who has been here more than three months, however, knows this is the epicenter for defective, formaldehyde-laced drywall originally imported from China. It's a legacy of the housing boom that created the bubble that crashed the market that turned a large number of homeowners upside-down in their mortgages and spiked unemployment. Houses have been remodeled, gutted, abandoned, foreclosed on, and possibly even torched by desperate owners. The lawsuits inch ever more slowly toward resolution. And affected houses are still being found every now and then.

So, here, everyone knows what "Chinese Remediation" is.

More Irrational Exuberance (and Some Reality)

As I was out walking this morning I noticed two new Century 21 For Sale signs up in the neighborhood. The new house under construction has the cinder block walls up (including the faux buttresses on the front), the interior framing is in, and the crew was starting to lay tarp on the plywood sub roofing. So much for the exuberance.

The irrational part is all this is happening while yet another house (just around the corner) has been abandoned. All the furniture is out and the lawn is growing rank. Not one of the other abandoned places has been taken up nor have any of the other For Sale signs produced results.

On the bright side, I passed a great blue heron on my walk this morning standing by the side of the canal. More than a dozen ibis were grubbing in the back yard when I got back. And two eagles swooped (very) low over the house yesterday.

Irrational Exuberance

On one of the streets along the route of my morning walks there are three houses in a row that appear to be victims of the housing crisis. The first, for a long time, had a sign out front reading "Open House." I believe the realtor parked in an empty driveway across the street. (The driveway has been in for years but there is no building on that lot.) Now the sign simply says "For Sale." The second house (with the equivalent of a five car garage--two in the side and three in the back--but, fortunately, not the usual "garage doors are the facade of our house" design) has a "For Sale" sign and a tube for taking printed info on the house.

The third was the most entertaining of all. The sign out front read "Not Yet For Sale. Call ###-####." That sign is now gone and there was a guy in there with a paint can and brush.

Beyond the third house was an empty lot. I say "was" because yesterday, in the middle of all this unsold real estate, somebody started building on that lot. They did some leveling yesterday and this morning they were pouring the foundation.

There are several other houses in the neighborhood up for sale (including one with a "Pre-Foreclosure Sale" sign) and I know of at least two more that are just plain abandoned.

One admires the optimism.